Writers in Kyoto

Announcement: Tenth Kyoto Writing Competition Results

  • By Rick Elizaga for LIsa Twaronite Sone
Announcing the prizewinners selected from 114 submissions WiK received from around the world. …

Langdon Warner and Kyoto: Error or Deception? (pt. 2)

  • By Sara Aoyama and Rick Elizaga for Joseph Cronin
The second part of Joseph Cronin's piece on Harvard lecturer Langdon Warner, who for many years was believed to have saved Kyoto from heavy bombing in 1945. …

A WiK Writers Afternoon exercise

  • By WiK
Lisa Twaronite Sone shares a piece she wrote in response to the writing prompt, "Kyoto fabric and kimono." …

Langdon Warner and Kyoto: Error or Deception? (pt. 1)

  • By Sara Aoyama and Rick Elizaga for Joseph Cronin
For many years it was widely believed in Japan that Kyoto was spared heavy bombing in 1945 due to the efforts of one man, the Harvard University lecturer Langdon Warner. Joseph Cronin explains what happened. …

Stormy With a Chance of Tofu

  • By Abby Deveney, Sara Aoyama and Rick Elizaga for Simon Rowe
Life in the time of plum rains, hydrangeas and slugs. …

Two Poems by Irina Moga

  • By Abby Deveney, Sara Aoyama and Rick Elizaga for Irina Moga
Works by a Canadian writer who fell in love with Kyoto while visiting Japan …

Writeup of the May Writers Afternoon

  • By Sara Aoyama for Rebecca Otowa
Rebecca Otowa reports on a writing workshop held in Kyoto. …

Stop Mykaa!

  • By Abby Deveney, Sara Aoyama and Rick Elizaga for Marianne Kimura
A Kyoto scholar witnesses the possibility that her interpretations of Shakespeare may be taking shape in world events. …

Nara, Japan — Japanese Air Force Officer Candidate Academy

  • By Karen Lee Tawarayama and Rick Elizaga for David Duff, Jr.
David D. Duff, Jr. describes his rewarding job teaching English to officer candidates. …

Yellow Sand

  • By Posted by Rick Elizaga for Mike Freiling
Mike Freiling explains an unusual seasonal phenomenon. …

Book Review: Miyako Redux by Marc Peter Keane

  • By Rick Elizaga for Rebecca Otowa
Rebecca Otowa interviews Marc Peter Keane about his latest book. …

Once Upon a Time in Little Tokyo

  • By Tina deBellegarde and Rick Elizaga for Simon Rowe
The topic of a nostalgic gathering's conversation turns from coffee imports to illicit trade. …

Review of Mary Louise Nagata’s Presentation

  • By Rick Elizaga for Paul Carty
Paul Carty reports on Prof. Nagata's WiK talk about her book on Japanese neighborhood associations. …

A Poem and a Translation

  • By Sara Aoyama and Rick Elizaga for Stephen Dodd
New member Stephen Dodd has shared both a poem and a translation. …

The Day Muromachi Saved Lunch

  • By Lisa Twaronite Sone and Rick Elizaga for Karen Lee Tawarayama
A new use for an ancient tool …

Off the Rails

  • By Karen Lee Tawarayama and Rick Elizaga for Ted Taylor
Train jottings of characters and music. …

Haiku from a Tiny Fishing Village 

  • By Sara Aoyama and Rick Elizaga for Stephen Benfey
Three poems. …

Workshop for the Poetry Curious

  • By WiK
A report on a workshop led by Nathan Mader. …

Writeup of First Writers’ Afternoon

  • By Rick Elizaga for Rebecca Otowa
Rebecca Otowa reports on a workshop held in Kyoto. …

Winter on Teramachi Street (excerpt)

  • By Rick Elizaga for Sara Aoyama
Sara Aoyama shares a selection from her forthcoming cozy mystery set on Kyoto's historical Teramachi-dori. …

Writers in Kyoto (WiK) Presents the Tenth Kyoto Writing Competition

  • By WiK
Call for entries, deadline April 30th, 2026 …

Lady of the Wild Things

  • By WiK
Taylor Mignon shares a work dedicated to the late poet Shiraishi Kazuko. …

Tilt

  • By Rick Elizaga and Sara Aoyama for Abby Deveney
A contemplative poem about neither this nor that. …

The Paradox of Nostalgia

  • By Rick Elizaga for Mike Freiling
Translating senryū poetry, Mike Freiling muses on the ability of nostalgia to transform our view of past experiences. …

Book Review: SPIDER LILY: Six Toxic Tales from Japan, by Andrew Innes

  • By Sara Aoyama for Rebecca Otowa
Rebecca Otowa reviews "SPIDER LILY: Six Toxic Tales" …

An Invitation to Awareness

  • By Posted by Rick Elizaga for Rebecca Otowa
Rebecca Otowa reviews “Ma: The Japanese Secret to Contemplation and Calm” …

Five Autumn Tanka

  • By Sara Aoyama and Rick Elizaga for Lea Millay
From Lea Millay, poems inspired by an October visit to Kyoto. …

Book Review: One Hundred Poems from Old Japan

  • By Rick Elizaga for Rebecca Otowa
Rebecca Otowa reviews a new translation of the Hyakunin Isshu by Mike Freiling …

The City of Flowers

  • By Tina deBellegarde and Rick Elizaga for Amanda Huggins
Cherry blossoms, a couple in their twilight years and the flower of their life together. …

SPA-WORLD OSAKA

  • By Kirsty Kawano and Rick Elizaga
From Nathan Mader, poetry in the world of a super sento. …

Five Elements 45 Years 

  • By Rick Elizaga for Ed Levinson
Edward Levinson offers odes to the elements and planet. …

Kansetsu Kiss (間接キス)

  • By Rick Elizaga for Tina deBellegarde
Tina deBellegarde shares an imagined reminiscence of a first date along the banks of the Kamogawa. …

On the Great Eastern Road

  • By Sara Ackerman Aoyama and Rick Elizaga for Ted Taylor
A journey along the Tōkaidō road to the historic town of Seki, continuing on foot through the Suzuka Pass and beyond. …

Book Review: The Blue of You by Amanda Huggins

  • By Rick Elizaga for Rebecca Otowa
Rebecca Otowa reviews a new work of contemporary literary fiction by the award-winning author of Each of Us a Petal. …

A Matcha Made in Kyoto

  • By Tina deBellegarde and Rick Elizaga for Suzanne Kamata
An excerpt from a work in progress by Suzanne Kamata …

Postwar Kyoto as Seen by a Film Critic 

  • By Suzanne Kamata, Sara Ackerman Aoyama and Rick Elizaga for Yuki Yamauchi
Yuki Yamauchi shares his translations of a 1945 article by film critic, Naosuke Togawa. …
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